33-year old righty swinging 3B Adrian Beltre has been ripping the ball all year long, but he got hotter in August. He has played in 27 games so far in August and he is 33 of 102 (.324 avg, .997 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 7 homers and 20 RBIs. Beltre has now played in 125 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 152 of 485 (.313 avg, .879 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 25 homers, 81 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Beltre has been rock solid for the Rangers all season long and I don’t see that changing in September or October.

23-year old righty reliever Ben Rowan has been awesome so far this year in the minors for the Rangers. He has pitched in 36 games (0 starts) in A-ball for the Rangers so far this year and he is 5-0 with 18 saves, a 1.46 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP. Rowen have given up 36 hits and only 3 walks in 55 1/3 innings in the minors so far this year while whiffing 48 batters. Those are some pretty impressive numbers. Rowen has now pitched in 90 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 12-4 with 21 saves, a 1.59 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. The Rangers are likely going to start moving Rowen up in 2013 to see if he can continue to dominate with better competition.

The Rangers have designated 28-year old switch-hitting infielder Luis Hernandez for assignment. Hernandez played in 2 games for the Rangers this year and he was 0 for 2 (.000 avg). He has now played in 122 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 65 of 267 (.243 avg, .580 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 3 homers, 20 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Rangers would probably like to keep Hernandez if he clears waivers and will accept an outright assignment to AAA.

UPDATE: (8/28/2012) – Luis Hernandez has cleared waivers and he has accepted an outright assignment to AAA.

The Rangers have had no choice but to keep 30-year old lefty swinging David Murphy in the lineup full-time due to his red hot bat. Since June 1st, Murphy has played in 62 games for the Rangers in which he is 64 of 185 (.346 avg) with 23 runs scored, 6 homers, 32 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Murphy has walked more times (26) than he has whiffed (18) since June 1st, showing how locked in he is at the plate right now. Murphy has played in 107 games overall this year for the Rangers and he is 98 of 317 (.309 avg, .881 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 11 homers, 48 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.

The Rangers have signed 33-year old switch-hitting catcher Koyie Hill to a minor league deal. Hill played in 11 games earlier this year for the Cubs and he was 7 for 39 (.179 avg, .385 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 1 RBI. He has now played in 313 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 183 of 872 (.210 avg, .565 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 8 homers, 76 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Rangers added more depth in the minors at catcher and that’s smart with Mike Napoli out of action for a while.

28-year old righty reliever Alexi Ogando made the All-Star team in 2011 as a starting pitcher, but he’s back in the bullpen this year, which is a role in which he excels. Ogando has pitched in 40 games (1 start) for the Rangers so far this year and he is 2-0 with 3 saves, a 2.63 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. He has only given up 33 hits and 12 walks while whiffing 48 batters in his first 48 innings this year, as he has been impressive. Ogando has now pitched in 85 games in relief so far in his major league career and he is 6-1 with 3 saves, a 2.03 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Ogando can just let er’ rip for a inning at a time as a reliever, and he is downright nasty in that role.

The Rangers have signed 28-year old righty swinging catcher Robinzon Diaz. Diaz played in 46 games in AAA-ball earlier this year with the Angels and he was 45 of 158 (.285 avg, .746 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 4 homers, 31 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He last played in the majors back in 2009 with the Pirates. Diaz has now played in 44 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 39 of 139 (.281 avg, .659 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer, 20 RBIs and 1 stolen base. This was a good pickup for the Rangers as Diaz will give them quality depth in AAA.

The Rangers have placed 30-year old righty swinging C/1B Mike Napoli on the 15-day disabled list due to a left quad strain. Napoli has played in 92 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 67 of 301 (.223 avg, .771 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 17 homers, 40 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Geovany Soto will take over as the starter behind the plate for the Rangers. He has played in 5 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 4 for 18 (.222 avg, .778 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. The Rangers have called up 27-year old righty swinging catcher Luis Martinez to backup Soto until Napoli returns to action. He played in 1 game earlier this year for the Rangers, but he didn’t get to bat. He has also played in 65 games in AAA-ball so far this year in which he is 58 for 215 (.272 avg, .726 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 2 homers and 22 RBIs. The Rangers hope that Napoli will only miss a couple of weeks.

The Texas Rangers have designated 29-year old righty swinging infielder Alberto Gonzalez for assignment. Gonzalez played in 24 games for the Rangers this year and he was 13 of 54 (.241 avg, .556 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 0 homers and 4 RBIs. He has now played in 402 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 216 of 893 (.242 avg, .596 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 3 homers, 85 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. This isn’t much of a loss for the Rangers.

UPDATE: (8/13/2012) – Alberto Gonzalez was cleared waivers and he has accepted an outright assignment to AAA.

30-year old lefty swinging outfielder David Murphy has been on fire with the bat lately for the Rangers. He has played in 49 games since June 1st for the Rangers and he is 47 of 138 (.341 avg) with 16 runs scored, 4 homers, 24 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Murphy has now played in 94 games overall this year for the Rangers and he is 81 of 270 (.300 avg, .861 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 9 homers, 40 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The Rangers hope that Murphy stays hot at the dish, because they are going to need all hands on the deck to win the A.L. West with the Angels playing better.